(ADMINISTRATIVE CORE: CORE A) PROJECT SUMMARY Description: The Administrative Core provides oversight for overall Center function, including the research, educational and advocacy missions. The core executes these roles through the following activities: (1) ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT: (a) Overall governance of the IDDRC; (b) Communications with NICHD, including submission of annual progress reports; (c) Circulation of all relevant announcements; (d) Management of the IDDRC budget; (e) Organization and convening of the Internal and External Advisory Committees; (2) RESEARCH MISSION: (a) Oversee admission of new projects to the Center; (b) Ongoing assessment of core services, including regular reviews of user satisfaction; (c) Bring in new research services when requested by users; (3) EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM: (a) Organize Monthly IDDRC Seminar and the Monthly ?Chalk Talk? Series; (b) Administer IDDRC-sponsored awards, including the Alavi-Dabiri Award, New Program Development Supplement for Clinician Trainee Stipends, and the McMorris Fellowship; (c) Support T32 Training Grant in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities; (4) ADVOCACY MISSION: (a) Participate in IDDRC Network to advance agenda of IDD Branch of NICHD; (b) Promote recruitments of high-quality investigators in field of IDD-related research; (c) Foster inter-disciplinary IDD-related research by working with Administration to create Centers of Excellence; (d) Collaborate with community support/patient groups, to: (i) Advocate for their needs, (ii) Sponsor educational seminars for a lay audience, and (iii) Create and support opportunities for families to gather and exchange information; (iv) Advise support groups regarding latest scientific advances; (e) Work with departments of health (NJ, PA, DE) to improve newborn screening services for inherited disease. Relevance to IDDRC Mission: Our Center enhances IDD-related research in 4 ways: (a) Creating a sense of ?IDD Community?, thereby favoring allocation of resources for IDD research; (b) Support for core laboratories (c) Recruiting young people into the field; (d) Working with the Network to foster collaboration and promote the goals of the IDD Branch of NICHD. The Administrative Core is essential to each function. It ensures that: (a) Core laboratories provide state-of-the-art services; (b) IDD research figures prominently in the institutional agenda, and that the CHOP/UPenn research community is supported in their rapidly adapting to and incorporating innovations that emerge, which will advance IDD research; (c) Young investigators are drawn to the field; and (d) The Network is an effective instrument for advocacy.